November 17, 2008

I just got back from Mexico City and I'm spending my time skimming the numerous emails that have been waiting for me for the last three days. I receive news updates from the NY Times, LA Times, BBC, and NPR to my inbox everyday. And I am now taking the time to sift through all the headlines from the last few days. From all the noise, clutter, fluff, and mostly uninteresting news that gets published everyday, I have taken the liberty of compiling a list of a couple of gems.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (and three other administration veterans) discuss what President Obama will inherit — and what to look out for.

"I think we thought the Responsibility to Protect meant something. I remember when the responsibility-to-protect language came up at the 2006 United Nations General Assembly, and I remember thinking at the time: If this turns out to be nothing but words, the Security Council is going to have a real black eye, and in the Darfur case it has turned out to be nothing but words." - Condoleezza Rice

As drug-related violence spirals out of control, security measures have become a way of life for Mexico’s affluent.

"Some security consultants and academics point out that at least the upper crust has options, while other Mexicans must rely on law enforcement agencies, known for their corruption and ineffectiveness, to protect them from the violence."

“For my children, they don’t understand,” José said. “They’re happy to have these [bodyguards] around. When they get out of school, there’s someone to take their backpack. There’s always someone around to play. I try to teach them that this isn’t normal. It shouldn’t be this way.”

Mormons played an extraordinary role in the passage of a California ballot measure that once seemed close to defeat.

“It is not our goal in this campaign to attack the homosexual lifestyle or to convince gays and lesbians that their behavior is wrong — the less we refer to homosexuality, the better,” one of the ward training documents said. “We are pro-marriage, not anti-gay.”

The Washington, D.C., school chancellor has proposed spectacular raises for teachers willing to give up tenure.

“Tenure is the holy grail of teacher unions,” said Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of Washington Public Schools, “but has no educational value for kids; it only benefits adults. If we can put veteran teachers who have tenure in a position where they don’t have it, that would help us to radically increase our teacher quality."

The claim of credit for the Sarah Palin-Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Martin Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months.

"...most of [the] victims have been bloggers, a reflection of the sloppy speed at which any tidbit, no matter how specious, can bounce around the Internet. And they fell for the fake material despite ample warnings online about [the source], including the work of one blogger who spent months chasing the illusion around cyberspace, trying to debunk it."

It's now almost 1 am and I have to get to bed. I will leave this list for now with these articles from the New York Times. Tomorrow I'll put up the rest from NPR, LA Times, and BBC.